Roman Holiday

I've returned at last after my summer break. I didn't consciously decide to take a break - it just sort of evolved. After our two week holiday in Cornwall in June I reopened our Etsy shop but was feeling too lazy to do much! Without the shop and blog to occupy me I've enjoyed reading more, crocheting (more on that later) and generally mooning about. It's been lovely but I feel ready now to give the shop and blog my full attention.

 

Before I begin to talk about all things vintage though I've some pictures of a last minute anniversary trip to Rome that we made a couple of weeks ago. We'd never been to Italy and with the last moments of this very wet summer ebbing away we decided to try and grab some sunshine before it was too late. Of course, August in Rome turned out to be sweltering!

We spent much of our time walking all around the old part of the city looking at all the usual touristy sites.

Stopping along the way for some fabulous gelati. The best was from Venchi on the Via della Croce, not far from the Spanish Steps. For me - dark chocolate and cherry together with mascapone and fig; for Leigh - extra dark chocolate. No photographs of the ice cream I'm afraid - it wasn't around long enough! 

 

We squeezed in as much art as we could in our time there, which is not difficult when great sculptures, such as this fountain by Bernini, are in every Piazza.

And Caravaggio's are to be found in the churches.


The beautiful perfection of the Pantheon's dome was every bit as impressive as we imagined. 

 

A three hour guided tour of the Colosseum and Forum,  even on a very hot day, was well worth it. The Colosseum was impressive, despite it's familiarity, and our guide was so informative we were even inspired to watch Gladiator again!

Our hotel, the Marcella Royal on Via Flavia, was a short walk from the old part of town but a lovely spot to retreat to at the end of the day. The roof top bar became our favourite spot for a beer or Limoncello before bed - and I admit to developing a bit of an addiction to very chilled Limoncello. I now have a bottle sitting in the freezer for late night tipples!